I land in Gaziantep after 3 a.m. By 4 a.m., Rob and I are at the airport—our third reunion on this trip. At 9 a.m., it’s not just Rob and me, but our car stopping near the summit of Uludaz, another ultra-prominent mountain in Turkey.
We park a little lower, at one of the switchbacks. It’s windy but clear, and we take a quick ten-minute walk to the summit. The place is swarming with ladybugs—because why not? They’re everywhere, making the windy walk feel a little less lonely. There’s an abandoned watchtower up top, though a rocky outcrop a few dozen meters east is actually higher.
In the distance, southeast, we spot another peak of similar height about 14 kilometers away. Naturally, Rob pulls out his handlevel to investigate, battling the wind while I check the maps. We both confirm the peak is slightly lower. Funny thing, though—many maps incorrectly list it as 2,448 meters instead of 2,248. Classic cartography.
Rob also notices some maps show a “Teleferico,” possibly meaning the peak was once accessible by cable car—maybe it still is, maybe not. We also find out driving to that peak would take 3 hours and 30 minutes (hiking might be faster). We decide to skip it and head toward Kahramanmaraş (like I’ll ever remember that name). Near the city, we spot two bonus peaks: Ahirdaği at 1,830m (P312) and Ahir Dağı at 2,345m (P940). Both seem easy to reach, at least on map. Tomorrow, we’ll try to reach the top of Killi Tepe.
